Smuggler's Cut
by fgl
Summary: My first fic...hmm, my first prose work whatsoever, come to think of it. I've got a bunch of Dragon Age 2 drabbles I'm going to stitch together into something long-form. We'll see what happens. May end up fluffernutter. F!Hawke/Isabela, F!Hawke/Athenril
1. Chapter 1

Renn Hawke plunged her blade deep into the genlock's gullet- so deep that only the sword's guard stopped it from going straight through the beast. Its last breath came forth with a gurgled shriek, wet with bile and blood. Wrenching her weapon free of the body, Renn hoped that someday she'd be able to forget the smell of darkspawn. It was a smell so thick and rancid you could taste it...a smell so foul it was hard to believe the darkspawn weren't already long dead on their feet.

This kill gave her a moment's respite, but she knew it wouldn't last long. The darkspawn horde was unrelenting- wave after wave poured from the darkness of the forest surrounding Ostagar, the crumbling Tevinter fortress where the army of Ferelden made their stand. All brashness and bravado as he led them, King Cailan boasted that the Blight would end here before it could even truly begin. That was a mere few hours ago; now Cailan himself was one of the hundreds of men dead on the field. Though it was an ogre that felled him, crushing the King and tossing him aside like a ragdoll, it was treachery that truly cast the killing blow. Teryn Loghain, Cailan's trusted general, advisor, and father-in-law, turned the field and retreated at the moment a beacon summoned his soldiers into the fray.

The betrayal would come to light soon enough; all Hawke presently knew was that Ostagar was lost. She'd seen the flame atop the Tower of Ishal light, signaling that Loghain's reinforcements were imminent. It was soon clear to Hawke and her comrades that for whatever reason, the call was not answered and the meager force left on the field was on its own. Men and women fell around her, some still screaming, some pleading...but most were silent, staring up at the night sky with empty, lifeless gazes. Countless darkspawn littered the field as well, their blood turning the ground to near black. But there was no end to them. Renn could see no point to a hopeless battle against an enemy that outnumbered her a thousand times over, yet her sense of duty kept her from fleeing the fight.

Until she saw her brother.

They served in the same regiment, but Renn and Carver had been quickly separated in the chaos. Faced with the blades and gnashing teeth of a relentless enemy, she'd lost sight of her younger brother- her own survival was all that mattered, all she could concern herself with. Pausing now to catch her breath, however, she caught a glance of Carver backing away from two hurlocks. They were advancing slowly, almost as if they were taunting him. The thought chilled Renn. The darkspawn were easier to take if they were simply mindless beasts, of a nature like any predator you'd find in the wild. But if they could think, if they could torture and tease their prey? Renn didn't have time to think about the ramifications. Right now, her brother's survival was all that mattered.

"Carver!"

Her shout carried over the din of battle and got the attention of all three of them. One of the hurlocks immediately began to charge at her, his sword raised high. Renn headed right for him, closing the distance between them quickly. The hurlock brought his blade down with incredible force, but it only hit the ground- Hawke was no longer there, having deftly sidestepped her foe at the last moment. Now behind him, she drove her dagger deep into the beast's spine with one hand and swung her sword high with the other, cutting off the hurlock's head. As she pulled her dagger free and the body fell, she could hear the other darkspawn fast approaching behind her. Hawke simply shifted her weight and thrust both blades behind her towards the remaining hurlock. Each weapon struck home and Renn felt the hot spray of darkspawn blood on the back of her neck. She turned and jogged toward Carver, who now looked defiant instead of panicked.

"I could have handled them."

"I've no doubt of that, little brother," Renn replied, smirking and a bit breathless. "But I needed the practice."

At times like this, Carver could never decide if Renn was trying to charm him, or to goad him. After all, they both knew that the elder Hawke was by far the more skilled combatant...and so, as usual, Carver decided it was the latter. Before he could get in his own verbal licks, however, Renn's smile disappeared.

"Come on. We have to get back to Lothering."

"Lothering? You mean desert the field? What for? We'll be hanged for that!"

"Carver, there's no time to explain right now. Trust me. Let's go!"

Renn started to run away from the fading sounds of man versus monster, heading towards the horizon that would lead to home. Carver remained still. His sister didn't stop running or even slow her pace, but she turned and called over her shoulder.

"Trust me, damn you! Run!"

Carver ran.


	2. Chapter 2

They had been traveling for a day and had met with no resistance. Keeping off the roads but always in sight of them, Carver and Renn hadn't seen anyone pass- no merchants, no guard patrols, no soldiers, no darkspawn. Renn wasn't sure if this bode ill or well, but figured that it didn't matter so long as it meant they were still alive. They had to keep moving and get home.

"It's getting dark," Carver said from behind her. "We need to find a place to camp."

He was right. Renn had been so focused on covering as much ground as possible, she hadn't noticed that the sun had already disappeared behind the trees. The purple of dusk would soon give way to the black of night, and if they kept on they'd likely lose their way. Or worse. What an ignominious end that would be after all they'd endured, to stumble blindly into a darkspawn hole.

"Agreed." Renn broke away from her brother and walked up a small incline. "Here. This looks promising. Not too damp, fairly flat, only a few stones to make sleeping terribly difficult."

She sat and leaned against a tree, put her arms behind her head. "Ah, another night spent under the stars. Life simply couldn't be better."

"I'm glad you think is so funny. Do you actually understand the situation we're in here, or is it all just a big joke to you?"

"Oh, I find it absolutely hilarious, Carver. In fact, I can't decide which possibility is the most hysterical: that we return home to find Mother and Bethany gone…or dead," she held up her fingers as she ticked off her list. "That we don't even make it home because the darkspawn catch up to us and eat us for dinner, or that a patrol finds us and we end up hanged for deserting. Any of those would be a wonderful time, don't you think?"

Carver glared at his sister for a long moment, then looked back out toward the road. "Never should have come with you," he said, more to himself than to Renn. "I was a fool to listen."

"If you'd stayed behind, you'd have ended up another corpse on the battlefield."

"Believe it or not, sister, I know how to use this sword of mine."

"I'm sure the Archdemon himself trembles at the mere mention of it. But even the mighty Carver Hawke could not stand alone against an entire darkspawn horde."

"Maker take you."

He was really getting angry, Renn saw. The last thing she needed now was yet another full-blown row with him. She was too exhausted, and they couldn't risk attracting anyone by shouting at each other. She softened her tone.

"The battle was lost, brother. I saw King Cailan ripped apart by an ogre. Reinforcements weren't coming, and you and I wouldn't have lasted much longer. It was either die there like all the rest or save ourselves and the rest of our family. We can do more good alive than we can rotting on a field. You made the right choice by coming with me."

Carver looked at her, his face inscrutable. "I'll take first watch."

"Renn, wake up. Wake up!" Hawke sat up. She'd only been sleeping lightly, but her brother's urgent whispering and jostling made her immediately alert. She looked at him, close in the darkness. "Voices," was all he said.

Carver's sword was drawn, and as Renn reached for her dagger she heard them. He was right- someone was nearby. They both strained to listen, to try to discern what kind of situation they might soon find themselves in.

Finally, she'd gotten hear bearings, and Renn pointed in the direction of the Imperial Highway. She felt some small relief that she'd made out a word here and there- at least the Hawkes weren't about to be mired in darkspawn. The threat still remained, however: while it could simply be a passing band of dwarven merchants, it could also be members of the King's Army on the hunt for them.

"I'm going to take a closer look," Carver whispered, and before his sister could protest he was off, moving quietly toward the road. Renn frowned disapproval, but got up to follow.

She caught up to Carver as he crouched behind a large tree. They were high enough up an incline to see but not be seen. Renn hoped.

They kept their eyes on the road sand gripped their weapons tightly, when finally the group came into view. Though it was difficult to make out details in the dark, the size of the figures said they were human. Renn counted five of them as they came closer, barely making a sound on the stones of the Highway. They didn't seem to be looking for anyone; rather, their brisk pace indicated that perhaps they, too, were on the run.

One of the men walked through a sliver of moonlight. In that brief moment of illumination, Renn caught some telling details: the glimmer of bones draped around his neck. Braided hair. A robe covered in fur.

"Chasind?" Carver whispered when the group had passed.

"Looked like," his sister replied. Chasind lived in the Korcari Wilds, the untamed forests and wetlands south of Ostagar. Though they were largely peaceful isolationists, rumors still flew freely throughout Ferelden, leaving children and adults alike fearful of the tribes of barbarians and shamans.

"What are Wilders doing this far out of the swamp?"

"Out of the swamp and headed toward Lothering," Renn said. "In a hurry. Chased out by darkspawn?"

"If that's the case, we'd best get a move on."

"I'm right behind you, brother."


End file.
